Date:  Sat, 5 Jul 2003 12:53:17 -0700
From:  Leslie Butt 
Subject:  Re: Preventing AIDS in Papua: report available online

Thanks for the posting on the AIDS report. Please feel free to download it, but
note that the figures cited within are no longer up to date. Just to keep you
all concerned, HIV and AIDS cases recently hit 1000 for the province. These are
documented cases only -- all those who die of AIDS related infections without
having been tested, or who have not yet been diagnosed with HIV because they
present no symptoms, do not count on this list. Conservatively, the World Health Organisation multiplies
existing cases by 10 to 100 for a more realistic figure. Whether actual
HIV/AIDS sufferers number 10,000 or 100,000 in the province, I think we can all
agree the situation is disastrous. Note also the vast majority of AIDS cases
are indigenous Papuans. For example, the health department in Timika recently
released information about HIV/AIDS sufferers by tribe/place of birth. 94% of
those infected were indigenous Papuans.

Best wishes to all,
Leslie Butt
*********************************************
Leslie Butt, Department of Pacific and Asian Studies
Box 3045, STN CSC. Victoria, B.C., Canada V8W 3P4
tel: 250 721-6647. fax: 250 721-7219
*********************************************